Where She Went

Original review first posted on The Book Addict's Guide 6/26/12: I must admit, at first I was a little bit unsure that we were getting this story from Adam's perspective after falling totally in love with Mia's story in IF I STAY. Needless to say, I was sooo not disappointed! It took a small bit of adjusting from a female perspective to a male perspective since I wasn't all together ready for it, but writing from any angle, Gayle Forman does an amazing job with building characters and just overall beautiful writing. I definitely saw the difference between Mia's first person and Adam's -- I felt like in the first book, Mia had a very pronounced maturity to her tone and her presence whereas with Adam (and we're supposed to), we have more of a "dude" feel. By that, I don't mean that we have less emotion because that is nowhere near the case. The language mostly is just a little bit looser and we see a more masculine side, a little bit rougher without being abrasive, and a little less proper. Okay, now to the story! I loved it. Love love love this series! If I was impressed with the first book, this one surely didn't disappoint me as I often fear with sequels. I immediately picked up on Adam's perspective and to be honest, despite his forthcoming of emotion at Mia's beside, I wasn't really sure if he was in love with Mia and how strong his feelings actually were. Throughout all of Where She Went, we see just how rough it's been on him since he and Mia stopped communicating and just how much she really did mean to him. She was his world, and you can see and feel the devastation coming from him. Guys, I'm not afraid to admit it. I totally cried. I got so sucked into the story and I just totally let myself be thrown into that world. There was a totally heartbreaking moment which I needed to note, and as all of the poignant moments in my life (at least in my head), it had a soundtrack. Adam turns on Sufjan Steven's song "Chicago" -- and with that album (Illinoise) always standing out in my head as being particularly emotional (let's not even talk about "Casimir Pulaski Day" because I cry every time I hear that song), I completely lost it. During that scene as he's listening to that song, I had it playing in my head and I just started letting the tears fly. I've always been strong into music so I absolutely adore when authors put songs into their stories. It really brings me in a layer further and helps me actually put myself in the story since I have a connection to the music that's play (something I forgot to mention in my review of ONE MOMENT by Kristina McBride -- rats!). That, and I always wanted to be the person who puts together soundtracks for movies. Another dream job! Sidenotes aside (wait, isn't that redundant?), I loved the story and I absolutely adore Gayle Forman's writing! I'm so glad I rushed to read this book so soon after the first! Usually I put a little gap in there so I get to enjoy a series as long as I can/as long as I can hold out, but when I found this in the library, I had to pick it up right away! Re-read completed 9/2/13: Oh my. WHERE SHE WENT was even better the second time around, even better than IF I STAY. Adam's POV is absolutely heart-breaking but I love reveling in that pure emotion. The beauty, emotion, music, suspense... It was all so amazing, even when I knew exactly what happened next. Re-read review originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 9/23/13: I am SO glad that I re-read WHERE SHE WENT. I remember adoring both IF I STAY and WHERE SHE WENT the first time around, but I had forgotten how emotional these two books were, especially picking up Adam's point of view in WHERE SHE WENT. Adam's point of view is so... raw. He doesn't hold anything back in his narration and I really felt everything he was feeling -- small and ... well, enormous. He's got some BIG FEELS in this book. Sometimes it was hard to watch and to see him in that much pain and constantly try to push it down or shove it away. For reasons I can't explain, I feel like it was that much more emotional because it was a male POV. You guys... Adam is 100% my favorite male POV of all YA. No wait. Of all time. His voice is so genuine and I feel like reading WHERE SHE WENT from his point of view captures all of the feelings that he's holding back from the entire world. That's pretty big stuff. I love catching up with Mia and Adam three years later and seeing where they are in their lives. This is a pretty significant jump in time from where we left off in IF I STAY, but Gayle Forman knew what she was doing. This is where the real story picks up again and we get a lot of the details from what happened in the past three years in flashbacks. Now usually, I don't like flashbacks. Actually, no, that's not true. Usually I'm very picky with flashbacks because a lot of the time I feel like they're not necessary and could have been summed up in dialogue or recounted by the main character. I do, however, love the flashbacks in IF I STAY/WHERE SHE WENT. They felt totally natural to the story and contained a lot of important information that we need to know for the present-day story. Once again, I find that music supplements a story to help draw me in even more. Just that one instance where Adam borrows an iPod and scrolls through a playlist... When I see music I love in a book or I can just hear a single song and imagine the characters listening to that one as well, somehow I just get that connection and it really adds to my reading experience. As far as the Shooting Star music goes, I could take it or leave it. I usually don't get anything from fabricated lyrics because I have no connection to them... It doesn't usually detract from the book, but it doesn't really do anything for me! I get ALL THE FEELS from WHERE SHE WENT. I loved every second of my re-read and I really enjoyed the male POV from Adam. Everything was so emotional and raw and it was just a really different feel for me. So glad I got to re-read this one!Okay, now to the story! I loved it. Love love love this series! If I was impressed with the first book, this one surely didn’t disappoint me as I often fear with sequels. I immediately picked up on Adam’s perspective and to be honest, despite his forthcoming of emotion at Mia’s beside, I wasn’t really sure if he was in love with Mia and how strong his feelings actually were. Throughout all of Where She Went, we see just how rough it’s been on him since he and Mia stopped communicating and just how much she really did mean to him. She was his world, and you can see and feel the devastation coming from him. Guys, I’m not afraid to admit it. I totally cried. I got so sucked into the story and I just totally let myself be thrown into that world. There was a totally heartbreaking moment which I needed to note, and as all of the poignant moments in my life (at least in my head), it had a soundtrack. Adam turns on Sufjan Steven’s song “Chicago” – and with that album (Illinoise) always standing out in my head as being particularly emotional (let’s not even talk about “Casimir Pulaski Day” because I cry every time I hear that song), I completely lost it. During that scene as he’s listening to that song, I had it playing in my head and I just started letting the tears fly. I’ve always been strong into music so I absolutely adore when authors put songs into their stories. It really brings me in a layer further and helps me actually put myself in the story since I have a connection to the music that’s play (something I forgot to mention in my review of One Moment by Kristina McBride - rats!). That, and I always wanted to be the person who puts together soundtracks for movies. Another dream job! Sidenotes aside (wait, isn’t that redundant?), I loved the story and I absolutely adore Gayle Forman’s writing! I’m so glad I rushed to read this book so soon after the first! Usually I put a little gap in there so I get to enjoy a series as long as I can/as long as I can hold out, but when I found this in the library, I had to pick it up right away! I don’t really have anything negative to say at all. I just loved it!

Three years ago, Mia had a choice. Stay or go. Live or die. Him or them. She chose to stay. But she didn't choose him. Three years ago Adam lost the girl he loved. It was a gradual losing, the petering out of a song, the gradual hush of harmony . . . until the day came that Mia got on a plane to NYC and Julliard, and never looked back. Never came back. Cut all ties. Three years later and Adam is lead singer and songwriter for Shooting Star. He is labelled as the new Kurt Cobain, and his romance with Bryn is tabloid fodder and on high-alert baby-bump watch. Adam is about to start a 63-day European tour. And he couldn't be more terrified or miserable. It has been three years since they last saw each other . . . but a poster beckons and Adam finds himself at Carnegie Hall, listening to Mia play in her first major concert. Tomorrow she leaves for Japan. In a few hours he boards a plane to London. They have one night to make up for three lost years - a night to explore New York, and learn each other all over again. `Where She Went' is the sequel to Gayle Forman's heartbreaking success, `If I Stay'. I went into this book weary. My heart still felt bruised and battered from `If I Stay'. . . reading the sequel's blurb and knowing that Adam and Mia's clear love from that first book didn't end happily-ever-after was another kick-in-the-guts. I didn't know if I could take reading this sequel, and being heaped with more sadness. But I, like many fans must have, found myself wanting to know what happened next . . . does love prevail? Is there a silver lining? Did Mia regret her decision? I will say that at the end of `Where She Went' I wasn't 100% convinced that Forman needed a sequel . . . but I was glad I read it. As the title hints, `Where She Went' is not told from Mia's point of view. `If I Stay' was all in Mia's first-person narrative. As suggests the new third-person title `Where She Went' is not Mia's story, but Adam's. The sequel is told this time from his first-person narration, and it's not always a pretty perspective. Adam got what he always wanted - fame. Rock stardom. The cover of Rolling Stone and Shuffle magazine. He got the groupies and now the famous girlfriend. But clichés are clichés for a reason, and fame is not all it's cracked up to be. Adam is scared of crowded spaces after a mob incident. He is ostracized from his band mates for his rising star and tabloid popularity. And he has taken to popping pills to stop his hands from shaking. Adam knows where it all went wrong, and who he owes his fame to. Without Mia and the heartbreak she inflicted, Adam would have never written the album `Collateral Damage' that catapulted Shooting Star into rock stardom. But to get there and write those lyrics, Adam had to have his heart ripped out by the only girl he ever loved. . . Adam is pondering and panicking the band's upcoming European tour when he decides, on a whim, to hear Mia play Carnegie Hall. A chance meeting has the two old flames reuniting for one night - a night to explore New York and remember each other. A night, perhaps, to right the wrongs of the past. In `Where She Went', Forman tries to adhere to the narrative structure of `If I Stay', with varying results. In the first book Mia's narrative flipped between watching her present-time battered body in a hospital room, and remembering moments of great import from her past. In the sequel, Adam is wandering around the Big Apple with Mia in present day, while also remembering his crash course of stardom and his crash and burn love with Mia after her accident. I thought the present-day Mia and Adam storyline was sublime. Pitch-perfect between heartbreak and redemption, hope and hurt. But the flashbacks didn't work so much for me this time . . . they were crucial to `If I Stay' - both for readers to understand the severity of Mia's loss (and how hard it would be for her to stay) but also for her to realize all the reasons she has to hold on, and who she has to hold on to. By contrast, Adam's flashbacks in `Went' are squirm-inducing as he remembers countless one-night-stands with groupies and his first meeting Bryn at the MTV awards. These flashbacks, while important to understanding Adam's stardom, were just plain uncomfortable. Mostly because of Mia and Adam's epic love story, set up beautifully in `If I Stay'. It's hard to read Adam's recounts and how much they sully what was so pure and perfect in the first novel - so that, as a reader, you feel somewhat betrayed to read of Adam's heartless hook-ups with girls he can't remember the names of. And especially his tabloid-followed relationship with movie star Bryn. It's spine-shiveringly awkward to read these, and I was just happy that Forman balanced the awkward with Mia and Adam's present-time romance. In present-time we read how Mia has rebuilt her life in the wake of tragedy. It ignites readers with a certain chest-swelling pride to read how much Mia has progressed and overcome. We fell in love and heartache with her in `If I Stay' - so it's like proud parents that we read of her achievements in spite of heartache. And it's with equally loving affection that we read Mia and Adam patch their past and heal old wounds . . . I will say that I would have liked more focus on the setting of New York in this sequel. I think the city could have been a character unto itself in this book, but it felt a bit like a photo-shoot backdrop. Nothing especially unique or igniting about it. But, honestly, Mia and Adam's rekindled romance kind of steals the show. I'll put a worry to rest for a few of you, and say that `Where She Went' is romantic (*hint, hint, nudge, nudge*). I went into this with a wincing heart - concerned that I'd come out with more bruises inflicted by Forman. Fear not. This is a story of reconnection and forgiveness. It's about the myriad of grief and how we deal, and don't cope, with its ramifications. It's the story of Mia and Adam, who had to go there to come back to each other. There is a part of me that thinks `If I Stay' should have been left untouched. It was literary perfection and didn't need a sequel. I think of that old writing idiom, that says `leave the reader cold' - leave them with a little bit of wanting, a smidge of read between the lines and make up your own mind. `Where She Went' doesn't do that - the sequel ties up loose ends and puts a definitive ending on Mia's story . . . and I don't necessarily think we needed that. That's not to say I didn't thoroughly enjoy `Where She Went' (or appreciate Forman's closure to Adam and Mia's story). But there's also a (fairly large) part of me that thinks `If I Stay' was all the more powerful for being left on the precipice.

Before I get to the point, I have to note that even though it's a sequel, it can be read as a stand alone too. The characters are reflecting back to past events, so you probably won't be all lost. But, obviously, to add emotional background it's better if you read If I Stay first. Years ago, when I still went to the library, I stumbled upon a book titled If I Stay (well, it had a Hungarian title of course). I think I was waiting for a book I had to request for my studies which wasn't on the public shelves, and at the time the YA books were right beside the waiting area. I was browsing the shelves and this book popped out to me. I took it home and I remember devouring it probably in a day. It was a tragic story about music, love, loss. When I started to read in English, I discovered it had a sequel. If I liked If I Stay, then I totally fell in love with Where She Went. We are three years after the events in If I Stay. Mia and Adam have their separate life, both having success in their musical careers. Adam had become a world-famous rock star with Shooting Star, selling thousands of albums, winning awards, touring and having a famous actress as her girlfriend. But under the shiny surface he is suffering. What once was a joy becomes a burden for him. He has to spend a night on his own in New York before the European leg of a giant tour becomes and the past he desperately tries to forget comes banging on his door. Giving him one last chance to right every wrong and get his own closure. Mia aced her classes at Julliard and about to go on a tour herself after her solo recital at Carnegie Hall. After the tragedies she had a hard time dealing with her grief and her teachers were soft on her, except one. An old Russian teacher of her pushed her harder than anyone else and under his and other mentors' hands she had become a cellist she was destined to be. On the dawn of her success the last person she expects to run into is Adam Wilde. The world-famous rock star who once meant the world to her. Mia and Adam go on a tour of New York and their past, tearing open old scars, bringing out feelings buried deep down for too long, looking for a closure. While If I Stay was written from the POV of Mia, in Where She Went we see the events with Adam's eyes. The carefree, happy, devoted guy we got to know is replaced by someone cynical, unhappy, haunted someone who completely lost himself and can't find the way out. This book is as much about the present than the past, Mia and his journey together and his own self discovery. After a long time he can finally get the answers he equally needed and dreaded, face his problems and learn to let go. As they say goodbye to New York Adam does the same to himself. "Standing here, in this quiet house where I can hear the birds chirping out back, I think I’m kind of getting the concept of closure. It’s no big dramatic before-after. It’s more like that melancholy feeling you get at the end of a really good vacation. Something special is ending, and you’re sad, but you can’t be that sad because, hey, it was good while it lasted, and there’ll be other vacations, other good times." Why I like this book so much is because a) I always liked Adam; b) I'm a sucker for musicians and books which feature music, especially if it shows the dark side of the music industry too; c) the raw feelings Adam has, his transformation through the book and they way Forman handles these matters. She can keep the balance between drama and lighter moments, and not turning her books into a long sappy romantic dramedy. And although her writing has a lighter tone, she addresses dead serious topics like grief, depression, loss, self discovery, dealing with problems long repressed. Even though I veered away from YA books in recent years, I don't mind picking up Gayle Forman's books every once in a while. Especially Where She Went, a heartwrenching, emotional read which will make you curse and smile and cry. A fast and sweet read for cold winter days.

Note: Review may contain spoilers Just read 'If I Stay' in one sitting then bought and read the sequel 'Where She Went' the next day, reading that all in one go as well. That being the case I'm putting this same review on both. Of the two, I'd say 'If I Stay' is the better story and 'Where She Went' is the better written book. Don't get me wrong, they are both excellent, I think it just shows how the author grew her skills as a writer between creating each of them. Where I felt 'If I Stay' fell down a bit was in the early dialogue, I thought it sounded very unnatural and brought me out of the story a bit. Thankfully that improved markedly as the story progressed and I was left with only my own personal preferences getting in the way. It is rare that I read a piece of fiction written in present tense. I'm not sure why that is but, since much of this book is in present tense, it threw me a bit and I also felt like the constant back and forth with flashbacks was a bit jarring. These were both issues that I got used to and barely noticed by the end of the book, the story was good enough to carry me through. 'If I Stay' tells the story of Mia, a seventeen year old girl and a gifted classical musician, with her whole life ahead of her. A life full of choices. That is until a ride in the car with her family ends with a horrific wreck and Mia has an out of body experience. Mia comes to realise that she only has one choice left, live or die, and she has to make it all by herself. Through the use of Mia's (while having her out of body experience) observations of her friends and family around her and the previously mentioned flashbacks we are shown or given hints at all the things Mia has lost, some of the things that Mia has left, and reminded of how life can turn on a dime. The story shows us sweet first love, teenage confusion and heartbreaking choices. 'Where She Went' is written in the same style as 'If I Stay', that is to say mostly first person and with a whole lot of flashbacks but the author does it much more smoothly this time (or maybe I was just used to it by this point). Also, just like the first story, the "present day" events all happen in just a little over a single day. This author can pack a lot of emotion into a single day. This story picks up three years after the events of 'If I Stay' and is told from the perspective of Adam, Mia's boyfriend at the time of her accident. Adam was crushed when Mia cut off contact with him and 'Where She Went' tells the story of how he channelled all that pain into his music and his rise into a bonafide rock star. Through present-day events and flashbacks, we see the way Adam remembers the special relationship they had, the simple pure love and his confusion about how it ended. Wandering the streets of New York randomly, he happens across a venue where Mia, now a rising star in classical music, is playing. Telling himself he'll just slip in and listen to her, then leave, he buys a ticket that leads to an awkward reunion between himself and the love of his life. But has life moved on? Have they wandered too far to get home? They wander New York together as the night wears on and old emotions, sweet and bitter, are both stirred in equal measure. The author did a superb job keeping me guessing until so near the very last page. I was up out of my seat, walking away from the screen so I could pace the room, I was laughing, I was crying. I was a bit disgruntled with the price of the kindle editions, but hey, I bought the first one, read it, and then bought the second one, so you won't see me complaining now. I would recommend both of these books if you like romance stories that aren't all sunshine and lollipops, stories with real grit, real heart and love that is hard-earned and well-deserved.

"If I Stay" was such an incredible book, it was a no-brainer to buy this one. Not only to see how the story plays out, but just because Gayle Forman's writing can be so sublime. But I have to say, I was disappointed by this sequel. It just did not have the same emotional impact as the first book, the storyline was just kind of blah and I didn't find the main character engaging. The things I really wanted to read about- how things unfolded after Mia woke up, why she left Adam behind, etc- were kept hidden. You find out a few details here and there, and get more of the story toward the end, but overall it just doesn't fill in the gaps. You never get a really satisfying explanation for Mia's motives- she does explain them, but it just falls kind of flat. And she seems like a different person from the first book- not someone I could connect with or care about. So basically, you learn very little about Mia's life after the accident and you get this whole book about boring Adam, and in the end there's a rapprochement, but it's too little too late and it doesn't all quite fit together or make sense. I really only kept reading it to see how it turned out in the end...and even then it just didn't really have a satisfying conclusion. The story probably would have been better told from Mia's perspective because there were just too many unanswered questions from Adam's perspective, and his character just wasn't that interesting on its own. It's really a shame since If I Stay was such a great book...I almost can't believe this was written by the same author.

I finished this book over a month ago (and I lost sleep because I was up reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore), and I'm still in awe of the genius writing of Gayle Forman. When I first read IF I STAY, it was because I had heard so much about it - little did I know what I was in for. Gayle Forman has a unique ability to draw a reader into a book and grab at your emotions and twist and turn them until you feel so caught up in the character's journey that you would do anything just to give the character a hug or a helping hand. Her books are not ones that you can put down. It's an emotional journey to read IF I STAY or WHERE SHE WENT, but one that you must take! But make sure you read them in order!!! (and if you haven't read IF I STAY yet, why the heck not?!?) WHERE SHE WENT takes place three years later and switches view points from when we had insight into Mia's thoughts in If I Stay to now seeing Adam's anger, heartbreak, and despair. Adam is now a big rock star and his band has hit it big and is heading off on a European tour, but Adam is devastated, and as the reader, you feel it from the first pages. The Adam I loved in the first book is still there somewhere, but he's been beaten down and lost himself when Mia broke up with him. The writing is straight-forward, but pulls you in instantly. This is contemporary realistic teen fiction writing at it's best. This book very much has the feel of a "one night in the life of" kind of story. It's takes place in New York, it includes chance encounters, it flashes back to Adam's perspective of what happened with Mia and her family, and it shows us where Mia is now. The thing I love the most about Adam and Mia is the way they are always looking out for each other. They are such a great, honest couple because they truly want the best for the other, but they've been through such grief and tragedy that they need to resolve those issues before they can be happy and hopeful together. The journey that Adam and Mia have to take to understand each other, forgive each other, communicate their true feelings, and hold on to each other is wrought with emotion, frustration, and love. And ultimately, this is a true love story - one that was three years in the making. Read this one - you will begin your own love story with Gayle Forman's writing. I'm so glad she revisited Mia's world and explored how Adam would have reacted to the tragic events in the first story. It's realistic, it's gritty, and it's hopeful. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next in her writing career! Review originally posted on Heise Reads & Recommends

A year and a half ago I read a book called "If I Stay" by Gayle Foreman. The story focused on one of life's most daunting decisions...move on in death, or return to a shatter world. The book was sad, and beautiful, and taught a very difficult lesson. Cherish the ones that you love, hold them dear and not take advantage of their existence, because you never know when that predicted existence may be quickly taken from you. "If I Stay" (though abruptly finished) was a complete story, so when I found out that Ms. Foreman decided to write a follow-up I was confused. However, when I finally got around to reading "Where She Went" I understood immediately why she had. (If you have NOT read "If I Stay" (and plan to) Please stop reading. AKA... there are spoilers) It has been three years since Mia's crash. Three horrible, unforgiveable, excruciating years, but not in the way that you would think. Things with Mia are just fine. Adam (her boyfriend at the time of the crash) on the other hand is self destructing. After being handing marching orders by Mia, Adam is forced to face his harsh (tabloid driven) life without the comfort of the only person who understands him, and being uncertain as to how to handle things, he resorts to bitterness and booze. With his world crumbling around him, and memories flooding his every thought, Adam decides to take a break. Just a quick one really, a walk through the park, but when he stumbles upon a flyer announcing Mia's next concert he suddenly realizes his past will forever haunt his future unless he confronts it. With only one night left ahead of him to make amends or set her free for good Adam goes for it. Will Mia ever fully understand what she did to him? Will seeing her help or hinder Adams ability to let go, and will the reality of life keep them from saying the things they should have said three years ago? While I enjoyed "If I Stay" I thought "Where She Went" blew it out of the water. The choice to abandon Mia as the main character and to focus on Adam was heartbreaking but (I think) a wise decision. In "If I Stay" we are introduced to Adam as Mia "everything". The reason she chose to return to her life. So returning to the story three years later only to find out that Adam and Mia are no longer together was (in some parts) physically painful. The story (like the first) was written with a handful of flashbacks, but the means of communication between the two were drastically different. While Mia is a musician, she is not a songwriter like Adam, and when Foreman chose to change her lead character, the ability witness pain through lyrics, and poetic inner dialogue suddenly became available. It is important to note (though my love for the book is telling me not to) that the story is a bit slow in places, and I think there was a perfect moment (about 1 chapter from the end) that would have served as a better ending, but overall...a very good read for someone who doesn't mind emotional journeys. Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Life is too short to be saddled with half truths. If you are unsure...ask.

Sometimes growing together means growing separately and that can’t be any more true than in the meat of Where She Went by Gayle Forman. Three years have passed since the day Adam played the music that brought Mia back from the brink of giving up. Things are much different now: Mia is on track to be a world-renowned cellist; Adam is living the high-profile life of music super-stardom. And they haven’t spoken since Mia’s departure from Oregon several years before. I’d like to take a minute to talk about such a devastating loss as Mia has survived. She lost her entire family in a car crash that tried to claim her, too. In If I Stay, she ghosts through the halls of the hospital, outside of her own body, experiencing the pain and devastation her friends and grandparents are suffering. But really, that Mia is no different than this Mia; instead of ghosting the halls of that hospital, she has instead ghosted out of her old life while she tries to find the meaning behind what happened and who she is now. Or at least that’s my interpretation of her circumstances since Where She Went is told from Adam’s perspective. Yes, Mia suffered a tragic event that might continue to haunt her for years. But what about Adam? The one thing that is never addressed in If I Stay (because of the timing) is Adam’s loss. Mia lost her family, but to Adam, they were also family, and I found it very telling that he also became a ghost in his own life, while the specters of the past continued to haunt him. "That’s the thing you never expect about grieving, what a competition it is." In some ways, I enjoyed Where She Went even more than If I Stay. Narrated by Adam, whom some readers might find too emo and angsty, I felt it the perfect follow-up and conclusion to the first novel. I really liked Adam in both books. He and Mia are messy and flawed, but that kind of makes them perfect, because the story feels real. Here we have two protagonists who absolutely love each other and are perfect together, and we realize tragedy can strike anyone and no one is going to be immune to it. Reading Adam’s heartbreak over Mia’s parents – and with a lot of heartwrench – his particular devastation over Teddy. Adam’s quote about grieving (above) puts all my feelings about his feelings into perspective. He’s angry. He made a promise to her when she was comatose that he would let her go if it meant he knew she was alive. And he did. But it made him angry, because he was heart-broken, too, and how dare she not recognize his own loss? And it made me realize that he broke his promise; he never wanted her to leave him and so he made a promise he had never intended to keep. Where She Went is told in the span of one day, where Adam encounters Mia again after those years of separation. But there time together feels like a lifetime to me (and I’m sure to them) as they navigate the choppy waters of their reunion and dredge pent-up angers from their pasts. How could she leave him? How could he have begged her to stay? These walls between them demand to be pounded on until they are broken down. Where She Went is, to this reader, flawless. It has its ups and its downs, and the only bad thing I can say about it is that I’m mad I didn’t read it sooner.